This Student May Be Banned From Graduation Over A Chemistry Joke

Normally, it’d be a story we’d mock because it’s ridiculous. Paris Gray is a high school senior, member of the Beta Club, member of SADD, your typical high school overachiever and she’s getting punished over a chemistry joke. But what makes it so much better is the theatrics the local news affiliate, WSB Atlanta, inserts into a two minute segment.

Admittedly, the actual story is utterly ridiculous. Gray basically snuck a chemistry joke into her yearbook that maybe five nerds were going to get. If you’re not up on your chemical symbols, here’s a musical explanation. In response, her school has…somewhat overreacted, and WSB has overreacted in kind. You can see the video on the next page, as it autoplays.

Let’s see here: Live remote? Check. Breaking Bad joke? Check. Lots of shots of a tearful Gray? Check. This might be the most comprehensive coverage of a chemistry joke in human history.

Gray may be booted from graduation at Mundy’s Mill High School in Clayton County, Georgia, for the crime of being smarter than her classmates and her teachers, which, really, come on, you didn’t see that and immediately think “Hmmmmmm, there might be a secret code here!” It seems unlikely that Gray will actually experience any fallout from this beyond learning that school administrators are humorless, but it still stinks for her, and the school administration comes off as petty. You know, because showing teenagers you’ll freak out when goaded is a perfect way to resolve that problem.

Wonder who was responsible for the administration becoming aware of this. The chemistry teacher, some asshole nerd kid (who maybe has some kinda nerd-rivalry with this girl), or a school administrator with an actual brain between his or her ears?